William Pelgrin
President and CEO
Center for Internet Security
Founder and Chair
Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center
Topic: MS-ISAC participation in state and local government cyber readiness and response
Mr. William Pelgrin is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Internet Security (CIS). The Center for Internet Security is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to enhance the cyber security readiness and response of public and private sector entities, with a commitment to excellence through collaboration. CIS has responsibility for development and distribution of benchmarks that establish standards for the secure configuration of information technology systems; provision of cyber security services for state, local, tribal and territorial governments; and the identification and development of talent for the cyber security workforce of the future.
As President and CEO of CIS, Mr. Pelgrin provides leadership in establishing, implementing and overseeing the organization’s mission, goals, policies and core guiding principles. He directs all strategic, operational and financial aspects of CIS, including: communicating CIS’s mission and programs; ensuring optimal allocation of CIS’s human, financial, and physical assets; furthering CIS staff professional development to foster a high-performance team; ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and regulations; ensuring quality products and services are developed and maintained; incorporating the highest level of ethical standards into all CIS activities; and communicating with and receiving direction from the CIS Board of Directors.
Founder and Chair of the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC). Mr. Pelgrin established the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) in January 2003 in recognition of the need for collaboration across states to better prevent, detect, respond to and recover from cyber incidents. The MS-ISAC has representation from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, local governments and U.S. Territories and serves as a collaborative mechanism to share information regarding cyber security issues. Because of the success of the MS-ISAC, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has recognized the MS-ISAC for its proactive role in coordinating state and local government cyber readiness and response.
Chair of the National Council of Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (National Council of ISACs) (Formerly Called: ISAC Council). The mission of the National Council of Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (National Council of ISACs) is to advance the physical and cyber security of the critical infrastructures of North America by establishing and maintaining a framework for valuable interaction between and among the ISACs and with government. The National Council of ISACs includes representation from the following national industry sector ISACs: Chemical, Electricity, Energy, Emergency Management and Response, Financial Services, Highway, Information Technology, Government, Telecommunications, Public Transit, Surface Transportation and Water. The MS-ISAC, under Pelgrin’s leadership, became the first government entity allowed as a member of the National Council of ISACs. Mr. Pelgrin was elected Chair in December 2008 and re-elected in December 2009 and 2010.
Commission Member of the Center for Strategic and International Studies to Brief the 44th President of the United States. Mr. Pelgrin was appointed to serve as a Commission Member of the Center for Strategic and International Studies to brief the 44th President of the United States on critical cyber security issues. The Commission released its report on December 8, 2008 providing findings and recommendations to secure cyberspace in the 44th Presidency and to help guide policy-making to improve cyber security in critical infrastructure.
Most Recent Awards:
- Mr. Pelgrin was recently selected by GovInfoSecurity as one of the Top 10 Government Information Security Leaders for 2011. This award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated the ability to lead and collaborate, with a proven history of getting things done.
- Mr. Pelgrin was also selected as one of the Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers for 2011 by Government Technology.
